Missing Puzzle Pieces
by TohruKur
Summary: Set after the betrayal of the three captains. Tohru Kurei, a girl who has woven her way into the very heart of the Soul Society's members, has lost her memory due to none other than Aizen Sosuke. But although others deem him as dangerous and should be kept away from the girl at all costs, Tohru thinks otherwise. But... what exactly is missing?
1. Prologue

Prologue

"What's wrong, Sosuke? Why did you bring me here?" The girl stood facing Aizen Sosuke, Captain of the Fifth Division of the Gotei Thirteen. "I'm very, very sorry, Tohru." It was the only thing he had uttered since he had brought her here. The girl's pink orbs softened. "Don't worry, Sosuke. You can tell me; what is it?" she stepped forward, wanting to comfort him. Instantly, the man grabbed her up in a hug. "I promise to get you back. Forgive me." She hadn't expected it. Not from the man in front of her. She slumped forward as he hit her with a spell. "Please forgive me, Tohru."


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

I opened my eyes. My head seemed to be filled with blank pages of a story. Jumbled thoughts were running through my mind; I not being able to decipher them. I could only make out names, but even those were a muted murmur. I stood quickly, with natural and instinctive reflexes. I looked around only to find green in every inch of sight. I looked down and noticed that my shirt had no sleeves, and my pants were unzipped at the sides.

"Tohru." A voice – no two voices – breathed out a name in a sigh of relief. Something in the back of my mind triggered, but I couldn't quite place my finger on it. "Where have you been, Tohru?" This time, a softer voice asked. I realized that these two were calling me; but I did not – could not respond. I didn't seem to have a name that belonged to me; to my knowledge anyhow. The voice returned, with a hint of worry. "Are you all right?"

There was a pull. It pulled me so hard from the direction that I was facing; it compelled me to walk forward. I slowly took the steps, my hands in front of me as I stepped out of the green and into the clearing.

Two men: both tall, with a dark aura, but in no way threatening. It was actually comforting and familiar. One had dark grey shades and was clothed fully in black. The other man only had black pants and bandages covering his abdomen, loosening at his chest and shoulders. Shinu. Hirai.

I blinked at this new information. Who were they? How did I know their names when I hadn't even recognized my own?

I was brought out of my thoughts as Shinu stepped up. "Are you alright?" he asked, his handsome face showing concern. I stayed quiet as they waited for my response. Finally, I said, "I'm sorry, but who are you to me?" Shinu blinked. Hirai tensed. "Tohru?" "Is that my name? Then why did I remember your names first?" I asked them again.

Something in my blood stirred, and I turned to face a boy with maroon hair streaked with dark pink and tipped with white. His bright, piercing sapphire eyes bore into mine. Shinshi.

There was an unbearable pain in my head. Grabbing my head, but not making a sound, I sank to my knees. "Tohru." I felt the boy kneeling beside me. "Don't worry. You're safe. We won't hurt you." I believed him. I let myself be held in this boy's arms. I vaguely heard what the three around me were discussing. "What's happened to her?" It seemed like Hirai. "I'm not really sure myself, but it seems as if he erased all her memories." This was Shinshi. "What? Why would he do that?" Shinu seemed angry, but his voice was controlled. "I don't think it was deliberate. He might have wanted to delete just a part, but without knowing, he must have wiped out all of it." Hirai's soft voice returned; it was soothing.

I could feel Shinshi shake his head as the pain slowly subsided. "Are you okay, now?" I nodded. Shinshi gently pushed me away, but held his hands on my shoulders. "Now, Tohru, this is going to be hard, but you'll have to answer the questions I ask. Can you do that for me?" I felt my head tilt sideways. Who was this guy that had such an effect on me? I just nodded.

"What do you remember?" I closed my eyes. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. When I woke up – or rather, it felt like just opening my eyes – I didn't recall anything. I just heard jumbled voices in my head, but they were giving me a headache, so it was easy to tone it out. I heard those two talking to me; in my head. I didn't realize right away that they were calling me. But when I saw them, I immediately recalled their names. But no memories whatsoever." "Was it the same for me when you saw me?" Shinshi asked. I nodded. "Pure reflex of memories. We're too strongly bonded with her for every single trace of us to be erased," Hirai stated.

I felt another presence as soon as he had stopped talking. This one more ominous than any of the others, and… weak. It felt weak. I was surprised at my calculation. "I bet you that she can kill that Hollow from pure impulsive involuntary reflexes," Shinu stated. "But we'll take care of this one." Hirai and Shinu disappeared.

"Shinshi?" The boy turned to my voice. "What is this? It – this Hollow – the first impression I got was that it felt weak." His features seemed to soften, although they remained emotionless. "Shinu's right. Most of your acting will be based on reflex." I tilted my head. He crouched in front of me before starting.

"As you may already have figured it out, your name is Tohru. You are part Shinigami, which is someone who helps spirits go onto the afterlife, or kill any of the interfering ones. I am Shinshi; I have been with you for the longest time, almost from the time since you were born." I could feel my eyebrows go up in surprise, and somehow pleasure. "Shinu and Hirai are your zanpakuto: your weapons for fighting these Hollows and other creatures of the spirit world." "They're weapons?" I asked, although there seemed to be no surprise there. Shinshi nodded once. "You'll learn how to use them when you work with them. It's second nature to you. You're a natural at combat." I nodded slowly. "Is there anything else right now that I might be able to explain?" he asked.

I shook my head slowly. "Not at the moment." Shinshi nodded. I turned my line of vision to the two men who had just returned. "There were actually six of them; Menos Grande. You're leaking," Shinu said to me. "Reiatsu," Hirai said the words as if the one word would explain everything. But, it did. I remembered what a reiatsu was, and how to seal it. I made some hand signs that I was able to recognize, but purely involuntary, and I closed my eyes, feeling my own presence fill my body. When I felt no more being pulled in, I opened my eyes to see all three of them looking at me. "I remembered when you told me," I spoke to Shinu and Hirai.

"What should we do, now? It seems as if she won't be able to remember Seireitei, though. She would have reacted already," Shinu stated. "I'm sorry, Tohru. We're not trying to ignore you," Shinshi said, as if he could read my mind. "It's just that you won't be able to understand at this point. We'll have to start slowly." I nodded; completely agreeable. "We'll return to Yamamoto," Shinshi declared. Shinu and Hirai nodded, before looking at me. Then, suddenly, Shinu smiled. "I'm glad that we're an important part of you." Then, the two men disappeared. In their place were two katanas, the two of them so different, yet both so unique.

I recognized them even in this form. Hirai's hilt and sheathe were both gold, both of them embedded carefully with diamonds, amethysts, sapphires and more. I carefully slid the blade out; as I suspected, it was also gold. Shinu was covered in bandages instead of a sheathe. But it was as long as my body, and the blade… there was something oddly menacing about the blade. I felt the blade, and found it smooth – just like bone. Both of the weapons seemed perfect in my hands.

"Do you remember how to seal and release them?" Shinshi asked. I kept staring at the two in my hands, and the information rushed in. I nodded. "Good." Shinshi seemed pleased. "See? It'll be better going little by little." He finally smiled, a soft feature on his handsome face. I smiled back ever so lightly.


	3. Chapter 2

Here is chapter two. I haven't received any reviews yet so I'm kinda hesitant about keeping this story. Please let me know! Anyone out there kind enough to give me some criticism is welcome.

Chapter Two

"The Menos Grande disappeared?" Shigekuni Yamamoto repeated incredulously. Byakuya Kuchiki, Captain of the Sixth Division, Toshiro Hitsugaya, Captain of the Tenth Division, and Kenpachi Zaraki of the Eleventh Division stood in front of him. Byakuya nodded. "They had already disappeared when we arrived." "Che, and I thought we'd have some fun, too," Kenpachi growled. "Well, that's one less to worry," Yamamoto commented, ignoring Kenpachi.

"Any traces of the girl?" This time, Yamamoto's voice was tired. Immediately following his response, the captains tensed. "We haven't found her yet. And Shin hasn't been seen either," Toshiro admitted. Yamamoto sighed. "But we're sure that she hasn't been captured by Aizen. We felt a little leak of her reiatsu, but it was too light for us to find where she was," Byakuya added. Yamamoto nodded. "We will have a captain's meeting in ten minutes. Please prepare yourselves." The three captains nodded and disappeared.

* * *

All the captains were uneasy; it had been total chaos since the betrayal of three of their captains. "The Menos Grande have been taken care of since they raided the Soul Society. But we still do not have information on… Tohru." Yamamoto barely got the name out of his mouth. Since she had joined them, everyone had been attached to her, and thinking of her in danger seemed to put everyone on the edge. "But we do know that she has not been taken to Hueco Mundo with Aizen. I trust that she will return as soon as she can."

"I have brought her." All the members of the Gotei Thirteen turned towards the door, where Shinshi and Tohru were standing together. "She is just fine!" Everyone gathered around her as she and Shinshi proceeded.

"Are you alright, darling?" "We were worried about you!" "What happened?" "You're not hurt, are you?"

* * *

I was confused as all these people surrounded me. I did not try to get into the safety of Shinshi, but felt a little claustrophobic. As the strangers bombarded me with questions – their faces blurring into one another – I saw a huge man with his arms crossed, his hair in joker-like spikes, with an eye patch on his right eye and a scar all the way down the left side of his face. Kenny. Another name. I decided that he was close to me as Shinu, Hirai, and Shinshi had been, since he was spreading calm through my body, and disappeared behind his back.

"Huh? What's wrong, Tohru?" the man asked as he turned to me. I realized that everyone knew who I was, but I did not recognize most of them. The lot surrounding Shinshi looked at me. "There is one thing that I have to tell you," Shinshi said, forcing the gazes away from me and to him. "What is it?" the old man with a long beard asked. "Aizen has erased her memories. He did not intend to, but it seems as if he deleted almost everything on accident."

"She has no memories?" a young boy with white haired turned his gaze back to me. "She has regained some, but not the ones of the Seireitei." "Then why did she choose Zaraki as her escape?" I couldn't help but stare at him a little when he spoke; he was wearing a pink floral kimono over his white haori that half the people in the room seemed to be wearing.

"Because Aizen did not mean to delete all her memories. She may not realize it, but her reflex actions and thoughts take over. She was close to Kenpachi, so her mind singled him out; although she does not regain the memories, for some reason…."

"Kenny" looked down at me and grinned. For some reason, this made me want to grin; I couldn't help but grin back. "I see what you mean," the man in front of me mumbled.

Then, something pink and small popped out from behind him. I blinked. "Toh! You're here!" A little girl shouted, jumping down from the man's broad shoulders and landing in my arms. My arms seemed to make a little cradle for her immediately, as if it were routine. And as I held her in my arms, I received another shock.

My eyes were blank, and just as before, I could not hear nor see in my present state; just the memories that flashed through my eyes.

"Toh?" I finally heard. I looked down. "Yachiru." Instantly, the little worried face broke into a wide smile. "Yeah!" "Ah… seems like she remembers her times with Kenpachi and Yachiru," the old man stated. "Hmm… I think I get the routine now," Shinshi stated. I nodded. "I'm pretty sure too," I spoke up. Everyone turned to stare at me, but it didn't stop me from explaining. "To whom I was close with before I lost my memories, it is easier to remember their names. But the memories only come back if it is something physical." "Like Yachiru jumping to you all the time," Kenpachi mused. Shinshi and I nodded.

"I've been so worried!" The man with the pink kimono hugged me out of nowhere. I pushed him away. "Please refrain… Shunsui-sama?" I answered more like a question. He brightened. "She remembers me!" "I'm sure anyone could if you did that to them," a woman with glasses and propped up hair sighed next to him; maybe she was his lieutenant. "But this time, no memory…" Shinshi murmured. Suddenly, my vision swirled, and I could feel blackness slowly encasing me. Shinshi held me before I could do a face plant on the ground. "Please let her rest. She's had a long day with a lot of action, and she just woke up." Yamamoto nodded. "Take her to the Fourth…" was the last thing I heard before all my senses turned off.

* * *

"Are you okay with being there?" "Yeah, it won't matter much. As long as she doesn't feel the need to move out…" "If she does, come to my place. I have extra space." "I would appreciate that very much; thank you."

I could hear voices. I'm sure one was Shinshi; I wasn't sure of the other person, but he sounded young. I was coming out from the darkness, the light outside shining a bit too brightly for me to hide back into the peaceful darkness. The two still didn't realize I was listening.

"Do you think she remembers me?" the young voice asked. "I don't know…" Shinshi answered. There was a muted thud of a punch. "Damn that Aizen!" he whispered through clenched teeth. I don't know how I gathered all this information, even with my eyes closed, but I guessed that I had good hearing. I could detect the most inaudible sound and could immediately tell what it was. Interesting.

I sucked in a sharp intake of breath as another wave of pain hit me like a nail on the head. I curled up on my side, clutching my head. Shinshi was immediately beside me. "Tohru? Are you alright?" His voice was drowned out by meaningless gibberish.

But, I made out some words of a conversation. "I'm very sorry Tohru… Forgive me…" The rest were lost in the pain. I was panting by the time the pain had passed. It was longer than the last time, I noticed.

"Tohru?" Now, the young voice was beside me. I forced open my eyes and looked at the figure besides me. He had white hair, despite his young image. Probably hereditary, or something like that. His aquamarine eyes captured me in them, allowing me to read the emotions in them; anger, worry, pain. He noticed me watching him and stayed quiet.

"Shouldn't you rest a bit more? At least try to," Shinshi told me, sitting on the bed with me. "How long was I out?" I asked, still keeping my eyes on the young boy – captain – in front of me, remembering his comment on whether I recognized him or not. "Just a day." He sighed, as if a day was a short time.

Unable to keep my thoughts to myself, I spoke to the captain. "Why are you angry… Toshiro?" I was glad I had at least remembered his name. He seemed somehow important, noting that he was here. His eyes seemed to light up softly. "I'm fine. I was just worried that something might have happened to you." I smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry." Toshiro smiled back. "It's fine. I'm glad you're okay." I tensed slightly, subconsciously, and looked around the room. I found out that I only relaxed as I saw Shinu and Hirai propped up against the corner of the wall.

"Reacting to her memories… huh. It's interesting," I heard Toshiro mumble to himself. Shinshi must have told him. "Is there any way to get her memories back?" Toshiro asked. Shinshi looked at me for a second. He shook his head sadly. "Because they were taken away deliberately by someone, rather than from an accident, she cannot just have them back. It is easy to erase, but hard to get back." "Is it… impossible?" I asked, wincing at the thought of not remembering the important people to me. "Hmm… I wonder…" "About what?" Toshiro asked. "If Aizen could return her memories if he wanted, since he is the one who took it in the first place."

Toshiro shook his head. "I doubt it. Although it may be easy to think that way, no one can implant memories into the brain again." "I guess the only way is to wait for it. Don't worry, it will come back," Shinshi assured me, although I felt a little doubtful. "I feel… bad. Very disappointed in myself," I told them, saying the words slowly after thinking them over. Shinshi and Toshiro both looked sympathetic. "Don't worry, Tohru. You'll be fine. You have an astounding memory. There's no way you're memories are gone forever. Just… be patient," Shinshi tried to soothe me. But I wasn't listening. I wanted my memories back, and I was going to work for them, no matter what it took.


End file.
